May 01, 2013

Repeat arsonist to be closely monitored

By David Clarkson. A 12-time arsonist is back in the community, but he will be closely monitored while he serves his latest sentence.

Christchurch District Court Judge Jane Farish today warned Lloyd Denise Odell that if he committed another arson while serving his sentence he faced a jail term of up to three-and-a-half years.

The 26-year-old lights fires when he is stressed or upset.

?It is not for the thrill of the fire. It is because he likes to see the fire engines and the firefighters arrive, and this in some way lowers his stress,? the judge said at Odell?s sentencing on 28 charges.

The Probation Service recommended that he be jailed because he posed a high risk of reoffending but Judge Farish saw that as putting Odell ?in the too-hard basket?.

She said: ?That is just giving the community a pause from his offending. It won?t treat the underlying factors that relate to his offending. He will come out of prison and he will still be a high risk.?

Defence counsel Mark Callaghan described the case as ?one of the more difficult sentencings I have ever been involved with?.

He recommended community detention that would allow Odell to continue with his work because he needed social contact, assessment by a Department of Corrections psychologist, and a period of intensive supervision.

He also suggested community work, to keep him socially involved, but it was ruled out because he has breached a previous sentence.

Prosecutor Marcus Zintl said the Crown was concerned about the danger that Odell posed to the public with his repeated arsons.

Odell is seen as having mental health problems but he is not assessed as having a treatable or recognisable mental or psychological disorder. ?It is obvious he needs something,? said Mr Callaghan.

Odell had admitted the theft of some chickens, obtaining items by deception, and a series of drive-off petrol thefts last year. More thefts followed, and a series of fraud charges after he gained access to the credit card of an elderly woman he knew. Judge Farish described that as ?particularly mean offending?. Odell also admitted a charge of doing an indecent act by masturbating in a parked car.

In October and November, he set fire to vegetation at a school, and at a vacant property in Halswell. No buildings were damaged, and Odell was the person who called the Fire Service each time. He was initially regarded as a witness. The judge noted he had 10 previous convictions for arson.

He had not coped well during a remand in custody because his ?social naivety? made him very vulnerable in prison. ?He was bullied and picked on, gave away his food, and was afraid to sleep,? she said.

?Anyone can tell he needs oversight and assistance,? she said, imposing six months of community detention at his parents? address in Ashburton. He comes to Christchurch every day for his job with an employer who is aware of his problems.

She also imposed two years of intensive supervision and judicial monitoring which means she will receive a three-monthly report on his progress. She expects that if Odell reoffends with any arson or theft charges, he will be brought straight back before her for resentencing and a likely jail term.

She also ordered that he do any courses recommended by the Department of Corrections psychologist.

Odell will have to pay for the $1573 losses from his offending at a rate of $25 a week.